As Gi-jun and Hitoshi stepped out of the room, the administrator who had been chatting with Hitoshi stroked his mustache and muttered in a theatrical tone,
“Ah, I never imagined that Miyuki would actually lose.”
Ito, looking rather impressed, responded,
“Yeah. I didn’t expect her to lose either. I thought she was just another bug among the countless others, but she turned out to be more capable than I assumed.”
Unlike Hitoshi, these two didn’t seem particularly concerned about the fact that their teammate had lost.
‘That guy is unexpected.’
Taeseong had thought that this wild beast of a man named Ito would be raging by now. Judging by his past behaviour, it wouldn’t have been surprising.
An unpredictable colt.
That was Taeseong’s assessment of him.
“Miyuki still has a long way to go. She needs to fight more aggressively! She always tries to hold back, and that’s why, when it really matters, she ends up powerless and loses!”
For the first time, the unpredictable guy said something Taeseong could actually agree with.
“What about you, young lady? What do you think?”
“Can you stop calling me ‘young lady’ all the time, old man?”
“Haha, quite the feisty one, aren’t you?”
“Ugh, talking like you’re something special. Why don’t you focus on your own work instead of evaluating others?”
“…Ahem. Quite the sharp tongue, too.”
Taeseong’s assessment of the mustache-wearing man:
‘A loudmouth.’
Lee Eunha turned to Taeseong and asked,
“What did you think of the match, Taeseong?”
After a brief moment of thought, Taeseong answered succinctly,
“…I think it was excellent.”
“That’s all?”
“What more do you need?”
Letting out a sigh, Lee Eunha shook her head.
“Forget it.”
She meant it.
At first, Oh Haeyoung’s hesitation and inability to perform at her full potential had been frustrating. But in the end, she had thrown everything aside and fought with all her heart.
And she won.
Some might call it luck, but Taeseong didn’t see it that way.
She had been able to win because she let go of her fears.
Taeseong was convinced—she would grow far stronger than she was now.
“Beta.”
“Huh?”
“She may even surpass that level. Chief Oh Haeyoung.”
Lee Eunha was so taken aback that she almost refuted him, but seeing the seriousness on Taeseong’s face, she found herself unable to say anything.
She could only dismiss it as something that just hadn’t sunk in yet.
‘Beta rank isn’t as simple as Taeseong seems to think…’
From Beta rank onward, individuals were essentially living disasters.
Beings capable of wiping out an entire metropolis on their own.
The idea that Oh Haeyoung would one day stand shoulder to shoulder with such monsters?
No matter how highly she regarded Taeseong, it was an absurd notion.
“Pfft. Hey, I get that you care about your teammate, but you should know what to say and what not to say. Do you seriously think that rookie could ever reach Beta rank?”
“…”
Taeseong ignored the comment entirely.
“Am I talking to a wall?”
Just then, the door swung open, and a tall man entered.
Narrow, sharp eyes, black hair tied up, and a suit exclusively for administrators—he was clearly one of them.
The man walked up to Ito, casually placing an arm on his shoulder as he spoke.
“Ito. So this is where you were? I’ve been looking all over for you.”
“Y-You?! What are you doing here…?”
“What do you mean? I came because I wanted to see you, of course. And here you are, having fun without me. You really are a troublemaker, aren’t you?”
It was the first time Taeseong had ever seen the wild colt-like Ito act so subdued. Even with a hand on his shoulder, he was as quiet as a frightened puppy.
‘Who is this guy?’
The mustache-wearing administrator also looked as if he had seen a ghost, his face turning pale.
The man’s gaze shifted to Taeseong.
“And you are?”
“Lee Taeseong.”
Noticing something, Lee Eunha quickly pinched his thigh.
“…Sir.”
“You’re from Korea?”
Lee Eunha quickly answered this time.
“Yes. I’m currently the acting team leader of Management Team 4—”
“I wasn’t asking you.”
The atmosphere turned ice cold in an instant.
The man smirked at Lee Eunha, who was visibly flustered.
“Relax, I was just kidding. Nice to meet you. Name’s Xiao Yun.”
Despite the casual tone, no one in the room relaxed.
“What’s with the stiff faces? Am I not welcome here?”
The mustached man quickly spoke up.
“N-No, sir! It’s an honour to have someone of your caliber visiting such a humble place!”
“Hahaha! An honour, huh? I’m just here to help, like the rest of you.”
“We are always grateful for your support!”
“Alright, alright. It’s just work, after all. Looks like you were watching something interesting—mind if I join?”
“O-Of course, sir!”
Throughout the exchange, Taeseong hadn’t taken his eyes off Xiao Yun.
From the moment he stepped into the room, Taeseong’s instincts had been screaming at him.
That man was dangerous.
Something deep inside him stirred—a primal hunger.
Gulp.
Unconsciously, Taeseong swallowed.
Xiao Yun walked up to him.
“Lee Taeseong, was it?”
“Yes.”
“You seem hungry.”
Taeseong nodded honestly.
To be even more honest, he wanted to say:
I want to devour you whole, right now.
His instincts were screaming for it.
But instincts were just instincts.
If he couldn’t control them, he would be no different from a beast.
And Taeseong considered himself human.
Only now did he truly understand the meaning of ‘Gluttony.’
The hunger surging from the depths of his being—it would only grow stronger as he sought out more powerful prey.
“Do you have something to say?”
Xiao Yun suddenly extended his hand for a handshake.
“I like you.”
“…”
When Taeseong clasped hands with Xiao Yun, the latter began to tighten his grip.
Taeseong also applied force in return, but the difference in strength was overwhelming.
A power beyond imagination.
Crunch. Crack. Crackle.
The sound of bones being crushed echoed through the room.
Yet, Taeseong didn’t let out a single groan and simply stared at him.
One second.
Two seconds.
Three seconds.
.
.
.
Thirty seconds.
Only then did Xiao Yun release his grip, smiling brightly.
“You’re interesting.”
“You’re not.”
“What’s your rank?”
“Delta.”
“Delta? Hahahaha! You’re really something. No one has lasted this long before. Since I like you, I’ll grant you one wish.”
“I’ll let you know if I think of one later.”
“Alright. Think carefully. This isn’t an opportunity you get every day.”
After saying that, the tall man sat on a nearby chair, humming as he watched the sparring match.
For some reason, he seemed to be enjoying himself.
Taeseong ignored him and slowly flexed his battered hand. Thanks to Orochi’s tail, his hand had already healed perfectly.
‘Was that just a show of dominance? Acting like some punk.’
He felt like killing him on the spot, but he reminded himself that if he caused any more trouble, he’d die at Eunha’s hands first.
Not to mention, he wasn’t even sure if he could win against him right now.
As Ito and Mustache looked at him with disbelief, Taeseong spoke.
“What are you staring at?”
“…Nothing.”
“…Ahem.”
Eunha, cautiously approaching, whispered quietly.
“Are you okay?”
Instead of answering, Taeseong simply nodded.
Eunha didn’t say anything further but wrote with her finger.
Hold it in no matter what.
Don’t mess with him.
Never.
As Taeseong nodded, he glanced at Xiao Yun, who playfully winked at him.
Ignoring him completely, Taeseong turned his attention back to Gi-jun’s upcoming match.
Stepping into the arena, Gi-jun calmly observed his opponent.
The blatant provocation before the fight wasn’t just because he was pissed off; the real reason was to throw off his opponent’s mental state.
‘Any human, when agitated, has a harder time displaying their full ability.’
Before being an administrator, he was a soldier.
A soldier specialized in killing.
Despite his outward appearance, Gi-jun was a highly calculating man.
‘Dual wielding…?’
An uncommon style. Not entirely unfamiliar, but he had little experience facing such an opponent.
So, he decided to start with a probing strategy.
“When the hell are you going to start? Are you just gonna stand there posing until the sun sets?”
“…You fucking bastard, running your mouth nonstop.”
“Stop trying so hard and just attack already. Sooner or later, you’ll be grabbing my pant leg, begging for mercy.”
“We’ll see if that filthy mouth of yours keeps running after I tear it apart.”
“Yep, uneducated fools really do show their true colors.”
Fury laced Hitoshi’s voice as magic coursed through it.
“Blessing of the Wind God.”
The air around him enveloped his entire body.
‘Wait, he can use both sorcery and swordsmanship!?’
Riding the wind, Hitoshi closed the distance swiftly.
“Wrath of the Fire God.”
Flames erupted from the twin swords he held.
As he swung them, a blazing slash flew toward Gi-jun.
Utilizing the repulsion of his telekinetic force, Gi-jun launched himself like a spring into the air, shouting.
“You idiot. Do you always have to chant those cringeworthy spells to use magic? Then let me try. Blessing of the Idiot!”
Striking a ridiculous pose, he clenched his fist—
And Hitoshi’s right shoulder shattered.
“Too bad. If my aim was just a little better, your head would’ve been gone.”
“…You bastard.”
Though Hitoshi spoke defiantly, Gi-jun was inwardly surprised.
In that split second, his opponent had instinctively twisted his body to minimize the damage.
‘This is going to be annoying. He’s more skilled than I thought.’
The biggest advantage of Gi-jun’s ability was that it had no visible form.
If an opponent didn’t know what his power was—
That first attack was always devastating.
Most never got the chance to even figure it out before they were dead.
“Embrace of the Mother God.”
“Holy shit. Just how many gods do you serve?”
As Hitoshi chanted, his shattered shoulder began to heal.
‘The versatility of his ability is impressive, but it’s not without its limitations. His stamina is bound to drop significantly over time.’
Just as Gi-jun predicted, Hitoshi’s sorcery had a major weakness.
The moment Gi-jun landed, Hitoshi lunged at him like a tempest.
Anticipating this, Gi-jun used his telekinetic power to raise the ground.
Rumble!
A massive wall shot up between them.
“……”
While Hitoshi adjusted his stance, Gi-jun compressed a swirling mass of telekinetic energy into a bullet and fired it.
Bang!
The formless projectile pierced through the wall and struck Hitoshi’s shoulder.
“Hmm. Two points.”
“…Tch. Just a bunch of cheap tricks.”
“Like you’re one to talk.”
The moment the conversation ended, several sharp lines appeared on the wall—
And it shattered into pieces.
“So all you do is scurry around like a rat?”
Hitoshi, visibly furious, charged forward and swung his blade at Gi-jun’s throat.
────.
A thin crack appeared on Gi-jun’s neck, and a thin trickle of blood seeped out.
If not for the telekinetic force protecting his neck, his head would have been severed.
At that moment, Gi-jun sensed something off.
‘Why isn’t he using his healing magic this time?’
Earlier, he had immediately healed his wounds.
Yet now, his shoulder remained pierced.
‘Come to think of it, the flames on his swords are gone too.’
A sudden realization flashed through Gi-jun’s mind.
And the moment he grasped it—
A wicked grin spread across his face.
“So, you can’t use the same spell twice, can you?”
